How to put Filters on Spring Water System?

[meanwhile]

Yep, more water questions from me. I have not found a plumber nor pump man yet but in the Meantime, I am going to learn as much as I can so when I do find someone, I will know what should be done and done correctly.

I need to put some type of Filter on the spring water system. I have two Cisterns (both are cement septic tanks) / Cistern #1 fills up slowly with spring water gravity fed into it. Cistern #1 then pumps water WAY up the hill into Cistern #2. Then it goes into the house.

We have had so much snow/water that the spring water in both Cisterns is muddy looking. Not too bad but noticeable. Like very weak tea color. It does not taste bad, we had drank it and no one got sick. But - I need to get particle filters on the tanks.

What type filter to buy and from where? Or can I build something? And where do I put them on the water lines to/from the Cisterns? Is there a device made just for this purpose?

I do have a spot on Cistern #1 to open up and I could hook something on that larger water pipe line. I already left a hole in the ground, and I put shut-off valves on it so I can stop the water going IN the tank and divert it to the creek. Could I hook something there? Or does a device filter go inside the Cistern some place?

Thank you for ideas and tips. I appreciate it very much.

[English Oliver]

A buddy and I just finished an experiment, and it worked. Pure clear drinking water from raw river water. We made a filter for less than $200. that will produce water quantities equal to or purer than domestic tap water.

We took eight 10' lengths of 4" PVC and fixed them in a vertical position. We then double elbowed them all together so the water went into the first pipe at the top and out the bottom into the second pipe at the bottom etc, etc, until the water came out of the top of the eighth pipe and into a cistern.

The first through sixth pipe are filled with #11 limestone gravel, the seventh pipe is full of activated charcol, and the eighth is full of sand. The gravel and sand were all prewashed and sanitized before loading in the pipes. We made two home made filters out of cylinders wound with cotton yarn to filter the water before going into the system and before going into the cistern.

We took samples of our finished water to the local water filtration company and had them test it for everything possible and it tested out better than the city water that was produced there.

"O"

[blooba]

8- 10' water filters should do the trick but i'll bet were expensive to fill. Don't forget activated carbon only lasts about a year or 2.

As for the OP, You should be able to just hook up a whole house filter to your plumbing. Something like this http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...me=Whole+House
They sell various filters for it from string wound (25 micron) to tight woven 5 micron filters. I would go with a 5 micron although it may clog up too easily, most houses use a 25 micron. I would also suggest getting your water tested. The "it didn't kill me test" usually isn't too reliable since some things will only get you sick over time and exposure. You could go with a carbon filter and other filters but since turbidity seems like your only concern the above mentioned filter would be the cheapest option(I think)

[Darren]

I'd suggest a whole house filter sold in hardware stores. I'd install it in the house or someplace warm where it will not freeze. You still have the possibility of some bacterial contamination and definitely viral contamination which will pass through filters.

If you have the possibilty of spores/algae getting started, the replaceable filters make it easy to clean the system. With an open system source like a spring and cistern that's a possibility.

If there's no chance at any time of bacterial or viral contamination, that's all you need to do. That will remove the particulate matter. If you want protection beyond that install an ultraviolet system after the filter. The ultraviolet system will kill any bacteria or virus in the water AS LONG AS YOU FILTER OUT PARTICULATE MATTER FIRST.

[English Oliver]

Originally Posted by blooba

8- 10' water filters should do the trick but i'll bet were expensive to fill. Don't forget activated carbon only lasts about a year or 2.

We built the complete system, including the filler materials, for less than $200. We were looking for something that didn't rely on the need to buy products to maintain the system. Even activated charcol is produceable at home, the rest of the filler materials are $10 a ton delivered. There is no manufactured system on the market that doesn't depend on you to go back to the manufacturer to maintain the system.

"O"

[marvella]

i've lived in several houses with spring water. it's just a fact of life that it gets a tad muddy during heavy rain. you just wait for it to settle.

[o&itw]

I am unsure of how the spring water gets into your first tank. If it is accessable, dig out a pit before the first tank, line it with plastic, and fill it with some filter sand (not sure what size it is, your local sand place will know, they use it in septic system sand filters) If you have a good spring that does not come out at the base of a rock, the mud may simply be seeping into it where it comes towards the surface of the ground. Build a little berm (think strawbery row hill) around it so surface water can't flow over the top of the last several feet, and cover the exit of the spring with some kind of roof.

[Harry Chickpea]

It is fairly easy to make basic carbon at home, using a starved burning method. ACTIVATED carbon is a whole different highly processed animal that is far more efficient. Look it up on the net sometime.

I'll relate something we learned over the years - that lifespan of carbon filters is right at about 60 days. Past that, they are detrimental. We had carbon filters on our municipal water when we lived in Florida. I would put a filter in, and just like clockwork, if I let it go more than 60 days, my wife would begin having stomach issues that got worse and worse. I'd change the filter and she would be back to normal. This happened whether or not she knew I had changed a filter, and it happened enough times that I excluded all other possible issues.

We use a woven five micron filter after our pump. I change it out when the water starts to get sluggish. I might consider that sand filter idea, but without the carbon, and with a way of backflushing it with bleach from time to time.

I have the ( GE HOMESPRING ) expensive but worth it . Google it for more information .

[Beeman]

Once a year I would divert the water and pump the cisterns dry. Scrub them out clean with bleach water and flush the pipes to the house out.

[meanwhile]

Thank you everyone -- what I need is a filter that will filter the spring water before it gets in the Cistern. I have two Cisterns and I think if there was a filter in the lines, before each tank, it would keep the water cleaner. Surely there is a filter that can be put in the water line, before the water enters the tank, and be some place where I can clean it out monthly?

Side note: Both Cisterns are closed! Sealed! They are cement septic tanks, new, sealed on inside with water barrier, sealed tops. Nothing can get in unless I open it to view. I need some sort of filter to clean or filter the water before it goes in each tank, to keep the tanks cleaner and thus the water clean.

All suggestions and ideas appreciated.

[MELOC]

i don't think you ever described the intake at the spring. it would be helpful to know if, like someone else wanted to know, if you are drawing from the creek or from the very head of the spring before it could possible be polluted with runoff.

i think it would be best to either rework the intake to take water from the spring before it enters the creek, or to build a gravel filter at the intake...one that you could replace the gravel and/or sand in from time to time.

I had basically the same problem you're having . I had turbid or muddy looking water after heavy rains . Those so called whole house filters the big box stores sell did me no good at all . I had two of them plumbed back to back in my water line . I still had turbid water & the pita of constantly buying & changing the cartridges in them .

[Beeman]

I know spring water is moving and shouldn't freeze..but if you put an inline filter that slows it doen enough to filter it I'm afraid it will freeze in WNC.
Clean cisterns and sealed you still most likely need to clean and sanitize them. The water would have some bacteria and such in it no matter how clean a spring it is.

Off topic..Whatever happened with the skunk under the cabin?

[meanwhile]

Haha! Beeman! That skunk is GONE! I put lots and lots of the Peppermint extract up under there and they moved out quick! It smells to high-heaven of Peppermint now but at least it does not stink like skunk! This summer I am going to rip off all the wood underpining and dig a proper footing and put in cement block underpining to keep the stinky pests out!

About the spring:
Our Spring Head is closed up, we cleaned out the spring-head, put in gravel, put in the pipe to take in the water, then a landscape cloth barrier, topped it again with gravel, a 2nd layer of cloth, then topped with clay, soil. There is also an over-flow pipe.

The pipe with our good water, goes down and fills up the Cistern #1, just gravity flow. There is a hole covered with a home-made top, that holds a section of the pipe to which I put a Diverter section so I can Divert the water back to the creek (the creek is not really a "creek" but is where the overflow from the spring and several more little springs, makes a tiny creek) and keep it out of the Cistern #1. That way I can clean it out when need be.

Cistern #1, then pumps really far up the hill to Cistern #2.....and it pumps to where I need the water........

What I want to do is clean up the water before it ever gets in the Cisterns. I thought I would put something on Cistern #1..........before the water gets in the Cistern, then again a filter of some sort on Cistern #2........before the water gets in the Cistern.

The water used outside, and in gardens would not get filtered again.

Inside the house, however, I already have a UV filter system and it cleans the water for household use.

Even the UV system, however, does not get the "tea" color out of the spring water after a heavy rain or after the recent snows/ice. I know the UV system supposedly cleans the water so it is Safe.........and I do have it serviced regularly.......but it just worries me that the tea color is in the water? Maybe I should just not worry.

Also, we have recently had sediments in the water lines. (that is another story - we depleted the deep well.......a mess after the power was out for 6 days.....).......and when we switched to the spring water (I have 3 water systems and can use deep well water / or spring water / or rain water).......we saw the tea color.

I want to be able to use all three systems whenever need be. So - I want to clean up the spring water.

Yes, Beeman, you are right.......if I slow that water down, it will freeze. The only reason that section has not froze up already, is that it is moving fairly fast. I have to figure out how to keep it moving....even thru a filter?? ........not sure how.......

Thank you.

A UV Light will not kill the bacteria in muddy water . The water running through the UV Light must be clear for the light to work .

[Ken Scharabok]

I get my water directly from a spring. In the mobile home I tapped into the incoming water line, added a 20 mc filter and then tapped back into the upper section of the incoming. What happens with me is after heavy rains the water, while still clear, has some sediment in it which was clogging up appliance, sink and commode strainers.

I use paper or string cartridges. When they need to be replace process is fairly simple. The incoming water is turned off just before the filter, the cover removed, the filter replaced, a washed one put in, the cover put back on and the water turned back on. Process takes a couple of minutes.

To wash the paper or string cartridges I put them in an old clean sock and toss them in with a load of laundry. I have been alternating between two string cartridges for several years now.

Note: Do not try to wash out activated charcoal filters. Only paper or string ones.

[blooba]

To those of you that are/were using those regular household cylinder filters and having problems maybe wanna check out the 5 micron ones. They don't impede the water pressure and filter more stuff out. I know they sell em at Sears, but probably are everywhere. The 20-25 micron ones are standard (frogs and logs) filters but I found the 5 micron ones do a better job when dealing with sediment.

[meanwhile]

OH! Oh! I did not know the UV machine was not working if the water is colored????? That is bad news! The UV man is coming later this week. Thank goodness we have not been drinking the water......not too much anyway. I switched to bottled water from my son's house but we have used some of the dis-colored water and so far, no one is sick.....but I need to clean the water so the UV machine will work.

And! I did not know I could wash out the cord / string filters? The last plumber (#7 Sorry Plumber to get fired / we could write a book on bad Plubmers / one is actually in Federal Prison now for an event having to do with a Bear and some big guns!)......sorry......I get off track about these Plumbers......the last one told me I had to buy a new string filter every two weeks! ????? Not so???? I can wash them? Those things are expensive when having to buy every two weeks. And he also hooked two of them right together since he said he "had to"???

What Filter would work best to get really lots of sediment out? It would go on the water line straight from the spring to the #1 Cistern?

Then, a 2nd Filter for the upper tank (this would be the water that was already filtered one time)........near the house?? To clean it a 2nd time and maybe this one would be a finer filter?

Thank you VERY much everyone. This is a huge help.

Side Note: For those of you who asked for a diagram of the whole water system / my sons are taking measurements today and getting elevations too. Then they will transfer my drawings and try to get it in some way that I can show it online. Thank you very much to everyone who has helped with this. We appreciate it.

If you have clear water with visible specks of sediment floating around in it I can see that those cartridge type filters would probably trap the sediment . I didn't have any luck at all trying to clear up muddy looking water that obviously had dissolved sediment in it with those type filters . I don't have a UV light but I am a member of several plumbing forums that discuss water treatment methods & there are several members that specialize in water treatment . I have seen it stated many times that UV does not work on water that is not clear & I have never seen anyone dispute those statements so I am inclined to believe it . As I understand it UV is used to kill bacteria in the water & does not filter or trap sediment . For the bacteria in the water to be killed it must be fully exposed to the UV light therefore the water must be clear . While trying to solve my own muddy looking water issues I did a lot of research & came to the conclusion that those cartridge type filters would not solve my problem . I seriously doubt they'll solve your problem either . The filter I now have is expensive but my water stays crystal clear 100% of the time & the filter also removes bacteria , viruses , cysts , ect . It automatically backflushes & cleans itself .